Hello

22 February 2019

Here's how it works: The Recent Releases chart brings together critical reaction to new albums from more than 50 sources worldwide. It's updated daily. Albums qualify with 5 reviews, and drop out after 6 weeks into the longer timespan charts.

Robbie Fulks: Up, and running, in the chase for the top spot, with no ratings below 8/10

The week in ADM

Michael Palmer reflects on this week's new contenders for Julia Holters' crown

Ok. It's time. Time to shut out all that insignificant news in
the world, all of those flashy distractions, that constant wave of
useless information and focus, truly focus, on the important stuff:
what albums are at or near the top of the ADM chart.

Julia Holter has managed to fight off all
challengers this week, but only just. Forest
Swords made a decent whack at it, but only managed an
8.2something, not quite matching Julia Holter's
8.2somethinghigher.

Our best-scoring new entry 'Ka' gets himself an
8.0, joining Julianna Barwick, Martin
Simpson and Earl Sweatshirt. With only
five reviews in, including a 10 from Fact, he could A: get more
great reviews and end up topping our chart, or B: get a few average
ones and not end up topping our chart. It could go either
way!

A 10 from State, along with a handful of 9s, almost gets Justin
Vernon's side-project Volcano Choir in to the top
of the chart fight, but Mojo's 6 lets it down. "The revelation it
constantly seems to promise never quite arrives," they say, though
Bowlegs call it "very precious indeed."

Also new this week with a 7.6 is Robbie Fulks,
who doesn't seem to realise how hilarious his name is. Seeing his
name and album title together only makes you pine for what could
have been. Robbie Fulks - It Up, or Robbie Fulks - Himself. Even
Robbie Fulks - It Over would do. Ach well. Nothing below an 8 for
the Chicago-based songwriter's first album in 8 years. Though, in
2005 he released an album called 'Georgia Hard' so all is
forgiven.

At the bottom, Glasvegas escape our 4th and last
page by a margin as small as the one at the top, their 5.4 slightly
better than Minks' 5.4. The magazines all shared
the same thought - giving the album 6, though Drowned in Sound say
it "pales in comparison to Glasvegas' previous offerings" and slap
a 5 on it, with The Skinny doing one worse (better?) and going for
4.

Elsewhere: Destruction Unit, The
Dodos, A$AP Ferg, Golden
Suits, Avenged Sevenfold and
Chelsea Wolfe all chart with 7s, the new
Nine Inch Nails has a 6.8 so far,
Babyshambles manage to keep it together long
enough for a 6.6 and John Mayer manages a 6.9,
perhaps not the first time he's had a 69 interrupted.